Volcanoes, Butterflies & Jesus: The Extraordinary Visions of an Ordinary Woman

Volcanoes, Butterflies & Jesus

The Extraordinary Visions of an Ordinary Woman

VOLUME 1: VOLCANOES

Shelley Zwingli

Cover Design: Relish New Brand Experience

Cover Illustration: Shelley Zwingli

Book Layout and Typography: Relish New Brand Experience

Editor: Suzanne Paschall

Volcanoes, Butterflies & Jesus (Volume 1)

©2018 by Shelley Zwingli

www.divinesigns.ca/my-book

Published by Shelley Zwingli

Melfort, SK, Canada

shelley@divinesigns.ca

All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.

First edition: October, 2018

Verse Living Life, c. Bonnie Mohr, is reprinted with permission from Bonnie Mohr Studio, www.bonniemohr.com.

Softcover ISBN 978-1-7753692-0-2

Electronic ISBN 978-1-7753692-1-9

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Brennon’s Witnessing

Introduction

Chapter 1

Starting at the end

Chapter 2

The Start of Easter Week

Chapter 3

Wanting to Go Home

Chapter 4

The Waking Visions Start

Chapter 5

Praying for Help

Chapter 6

Aftermath

Chapter 7

Visiting Arenal: My Rebirth

Conclusion

Sharing our Talents –It’s in Our Soul’s DNA

About the Author

Corinthians: "Faith, Hope and Love…

And the Greatest of these is love…"

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who watches over us all here on Earth and awaits our return to Heaven when our life is complete. Creator, you carried me through some dark nights and it was during those times when I surrendered my controlling nature and placed my trust in your Divine plan. That’s when your unfathomable love shone through. I am your servant. Please continue to teach me your ways so that I may bring your love and hope to the world.

Acknowledgements

My parents were my first teachers; they set the foundation of my spiritual life on a course that has given me the strength to develop into a woman firmly planted with God as her focal point. They taught me how to pray for understanding and to never give up when the road got tough. They encouraged me to ask questions and to seek the truth at all cost.

My husband Trent has been an unfaltering partner from the beginning of our relationship 35 years ago. His support and spiritual enlightenment as I walked through this challenging journey has me giving thanks every morning, noon and night. My children, Brennon and Branelle, along with their spouses, have encouraged me to share all the beauty that I witnessed during my awakening in that Easter week of 2013.

I extend many thanks to Suzanne Paschall, my editor, who guided me into the literary world. She helped develop my writing skills and encouraged vulnerability so that the reader could feel my pain and joy throughout the storyline.

John and Hilda Epp became my second set of parents. We laughed, cried and painted many holy scenes together for hours on end at their kitchen table. My painting skills are what they are because of your love and guidance.

Jennifer Welsh, a Transformational Coach who helped me overcome the fear of totally being the authentic Shelley after my near death experience. She taught me to embrace the truth that I witnessed and to stand firm in it.

To my church, the holy ground that I frequent often: It is within these walls that I feel fed by the Word of God. The connection to my beliefs can be found anywhere on this planet but I love the community of people that sing and pray together at Our Lady of Consolation Parish in my hometown, Melfort.

Terry from Relish Design has played a beneficial role in the vision I had for the book’s design. Thanks to you and your team for all of the attention to detail and the wonderful choices you provided for the cover.

Thanks to Jade Lauren Photography for shooting the painting for the Volcanoes book cover and her mother Carla Tyacke for critiquing the Volcanoes book painting. You two women are such a blessing to know. I thank God that our paths have crossed.

I send many thanks to Dyson Nordwick Chan, my nephew from Regina, Sask., who spent many hours shooting and editing the video creations used on the Fundrazr site. You are so young and are talented beyond your years. I wish you an abundance of success in this field that you are truly called to embrace.

Many friends and family members have encouraged me to share this story and because of their constant reassurance, this book has come to life. Thanks to all of the people who pre-purchased my book through fundrazr.com/volcanoesbook. This gesture has given me direction as to sales demand and has also lightened the financial load of the book’s publication.

Brennon’s Witnessing

On Thursday, March 28, 2013, a good friend and I boarded a plane headed southbound to escape winter. Destination: Costa Rica.

As per my usual pre-trip checklist, I made a phone call home to chat with my mom and dad. There was nothing overly notable about the call—starting with the usual pleasantries and chatter about my upcoming trip. Who was I going to be traveling with? A good friend of mine, and then meeting up with a local Tico who would be showing us around. What excited me the most about my upcoming trip? The sun! A break from work. And finally having the opportunity to visit a country whose natural beauty was all anyone who had been ever talked about.

After chatting about my upcoming trip, I asked what their plans were for the Easter week-end. My sister was coming home tomorrow evening for Good Friday mass followed by a waffle feast, and then the Easter Vigil on Saturday night. It was around this point that my mom mentioned that she hadn’t been feeling all that great.

We ended our call with them wishing me a safe trip and lots of fun. I promised I’d make the most of it. I wished them a Happy (early) Easter, and my mom a get well and lots of rest. We said we’d keep in touch by Skype while I was away, and sent each other lots of love. Mom reminded me to send a copy of my itinerary and contact details. This is something she does out of habit because I work in travel, but something I rarely remember to do!

On Good Friday, while sitting poolside enjoying a tasty piña colada, I decided I would try calling home to let them know that we had made it safe and sound, and that life was grand. I started off by trying to call my mom, as she was the only one with a Skype account. There was no answer. I then tried my dad and my sister, to no avail. I tried them all a couple of times throughout the day, and then realized that perhaps because I was calling through Skype, the number might appear odd to them. No big deal, I’d try them again tomorrow.

On Saturday I finally manage to get my dad on the phone. All that I really remember about that initial conversation was that on Friday my mum was taken into Victoria Hospital’s emergency room in Prince Albert. She had undergone an emergency appendectomy, and was now recovering. My dad seemed calm, and the surgery sounded relatively routine (I was in shock and not exactly pushing for details). I told my dad I could be on the next flight homeward bound, and he said that my mom insisted that I was not to worry and to enjoy my vacation (I had yet to speak with her directly). Again, I promised to keep in touch throughout my trip, and told my dad to tell my mom I’d be sending healing vibes from beautiful Costa Rica!

On Wednesday, the day mom was discharged; I managed to call my sister when she was on the road home with mom. Branelle had decided to stay home for the week after Easter and help my dad take care of my mom. This was the first time I had spoken with mom since the day before I left for my trip. We didn’t talk for too long—she was very tired, but really looking forward to being home. She had mentioned to me that she had a strange but beautiful spiritual experience that day in the hospital but she didn’t go into many details about it. It was great to hear her voice.

I called home daily for updates on how Mom’s recovery was going. I was told she was having trouble sleeping, but she was on the mend. I returned home to Toronto, and spoke with her regularly, but it wasn’t until a few weeks later, when I went home to Saskatchewan for a visit, that my mom shared with me what had happened over that Easter weekend.

She had shared bits and pieces of her journey with me over the phone (part of it while I was in Costa Rica) but it took a while for her to process what she went through and she wanted to share that with me in person.

After hearing her story, I needed a bit of time to understand what had happened myself. It was during this time that I not only realized how life-changing this experience had been for my mom, but how life-threatening it was at the same time. It was the latter of the two that initially I homed in on.

I was hurt. Why hadn’t my dad or sister shared more about the seriousness of my mom’s condition? Costa Rica would always be there; my mom, on the other hand, may not be.

That hurt turned into a form of internalized anger towards them, and I found myself playing out worst-case scenarios. My mom is an incredibly strong and spiritual lady, but what if she hadn’t made it through? There’d be guilt; there’d be blame.

To these points, my mom told me that there were times that were touch and go, but she was the one who insisted that they not share the details with me. Eventually, there was a turning point and from that time on, she knew that everything was going to be okay and she was no longer scared.

There was a time when I questioned what my life would be like if that worst-case scenario was how everything played out. On one hand, I think about things as they were—me in Costa Rica, and my family making the decision of whether I should come home. Would I feel that anger and resentment towards my dad and sister? Would I feel they had (dare I say) betrayed me?

On the other hand, I think about me ending my trip to Costa Rica and flying home to be with my family during this time. Is it written somewhere that if all family members are present, good things will come? To my knowledge, it is not. So then, who do I blame for what happened to my mom? The medical system whose tests failed to detect issues with her body? Or, what about God?

More often than not, we have the tendency to blame ourselves and others too easily for things that are beyond anyone’s control. Over time, I’ve realized that my being there for my mom in person wasn’t going to be the deciding factor as to whether she lived or died. This wasn’t between me, my dad or my sister. This was between my mom and her Creator.

There are always going to be times in life where we are faced with challenges and obstacles that may be life-threatening, life-changing, or a combination of the two. There are no guarantees that we are going to understand the who, what, when, where and whys of any situation, which brings me to one of my favourite quotes: Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know everything happens for a reason. (Albert Schweitzer)

With that, let’s focus on the life-changing.

Introduction

We have all been created in the image of our God. Within our physical body there is a spiritual energy. I view my energy as a lit candle. This candle is at the core of my being. It is God within me. We are unsure of the path